The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive, Vol. 4: Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Laud Misc. 581 (S. C. 987) (L) – Passus 8William LanglandEdited by Hoyt N. Duggan and Ralph HannaAssociate Editors: Patricia R. Bart, M. Gail Duggan and Catherine A. FarleyTechnical Editors: Daniel V. Pitti and Jonathan Rodney Graduate Research Assistants Heather Blatt, Michael Blum, John Ivor Carlson, Nancy Renwick Clendenon, Carri Cregar, Paul Fyfe, Paul Gaffney, Matthew Gibson, Bethany Mabee, Stephen C. Martin, Chloe Smith, Timothy L. Stinson, and Keicy Tolbert. Computer Consultants and ProgrammersShayne Brandon, Nathaniel Garson, Matthew S. Gibson, Kirk V. Hastings, Janice McCoy, Susan Munson, David Seaman, and John Unsworth.Published for the Medieval Academy of America and The Society for Early English and Norse Electronic Texts (SEENET) by Boydell and Brewer Ltd. Cambridge ISBN: 184384026X

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SEENET A.6

Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud misc. 581 (S. C. 987)

late 14th or early 15th century Source copy consulted: Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud misc. 581 (S. C. 987)

Attribute Valuesbrown inkanglicana bastardaitalicLombard Capornamented capital, N lines highrubricatedtouched in redtexturaunderlinedunderlined in redgreen inkblue ink

LatinFrenchGerman2003 Editor Hoyt N. Duggan New header created and structure reorganized. Passus viijus de visione & hic explicit & incipit inquisicio prima de Dowel .L.8.000: Note that the rubricating scribe did not follow the guide letters literally.Passus octauus de visione & primus de dowelt+ ThusL.8.1: The ornamental capital is eight lines high and done in blue ink with red flourishes. A small guide letter <t> is just visible in the ornamentation to the left of the capital. yrobed in russet · I rowmed abouteL.8.1: A corrector's <+> appears in the right margin, but no error is apparent. Al a somer sesoun · for to seke dowel And frayned ful oft · of folke þat I mette If ani wiȝte wiste · where dowel was at Inne And what man he miȝte be · of many man I axed Was neuere wiȝte as I went · þat me wisse couthe Where þis lede lenged · lasse ne more Tyl it bifel on a fryday · two freres I mette Maistres of þe Menoures · men of grete witte I hailsed hem hendely as I hadde lerned And preyed hem par charitee · ar þei passed forther+ IfL.8.12: The second letter of If appears to have been added later, probably in response to the corrector's <+> appearing in the left margin. þei knewe any contre · or costes as þei went Where þat dowel dwelleth · doth me to wytene For þei ben men on þis molde · þat moste wyde walken And knowen contrees · and courtes · and many kynnes places Bothe prynces paleyses · and pore mennes cotes And dowel and doyuel · where þei dwelle bothe Amonges vs quod þe Menours · þat man is dwellyng And euere hath as I hope · and euere shal here-after Contra quod I as a clerke · and comsed to disputen And seide sothliL.8.21: LM alone among B manuscripts read And seide sothli. Most other B manuscripts insert hem after seide or eliminate the English introduction to the Latin quotation. However, LM's reading is matched by most C manuscripts. sepcies · in die cadit iustus Seuene sythes seith þe boke · synneth þe riȝtful . And who-so synneth I seyde · doth yuel as me þinketh And dowel and do yuel · mow nouȝt dwelle togideres Ergo he nys nauȝt alway · amonge ȝow freres He is otherwhile ellis-where · to wisse þe peple I shal sey þe my sone · seide þe frere þanne How seuene sithes þe sadmansad man · on þeL.8.28: LMR alone have þe. Most other B manuscripts have a. day synneth By a forbisene quod þe frere · I shal þe faire shewe Lat brynge a man in a bote · amydde aL.8.30: LR alone have a. Other B manuscripts have þe. brode water Þe wynde and þe water · and þe bote waggynge Maketh þe man many a tyme · to falle and to stonde For stonde he neuere so styf · he stombleth ȝif he moeue Ac ȝit is he sauf and sounde · and so hym bihoueth For ȝif he ne arise þe rather · and rauȝte to þe stiere Þe wynde wolde wyth þe water · þe bote ouerthrowe And þanne were his lyf loste · þourgh lacchesse of hym-self And þus it falleth quod þe frere · bi folke here on erthe Þe water is likned to þe worlde · þat wanyeth and wexeth Þe godis of þis grounde aren like · to þe grete wawes Þat as wyndes and wederes · walwethL.8.41: LM alone have walweth. Other B manuscripts have walkeþ. aboute Þe bote is likned to owre body · þat brutel is of kynde+ Þat þorugh þe fende and þiL.8.43: LR alone have þi, which explains the corrector's <+> in the left margin. Most other B manuscripts have þe. flessh · and þe frele worlde Synneth þe sadman · a day seuene sythes Ac dedly synne doth he nouȝt · for dowel hym kepith And þat is charite þe champioun · chief help aȝein synne For he strengtheth man to stonde · and stereth mannes soule And þowgh þi body bow · as bote doth in þe water Ay is þi soule sauf · butL.8.49: LMR alone have but. Other B manuscripts have but if. þi-self wole Do a dedly synne · and drenche so þi soule God wole suffre wel þi sleuthe · ȝif þi-self lyketh For he ȝaf þe to ȝeresȝyue · to ȝeme wel þi-selue+ And þat is witte aL.8.53: The corrector has noted the scribe's a for and with a <+> in the left margin both here and at L.7.104. The same form appears at this point in M as well. fre wille · to euery wyȝte a porcioun To fleghyng foules · to fissches & to bestes+ Ac man hath moste þerof · and moste is to blameL.8.55: A corrector's <+> appears in the left margin. His exemplar may have had initial And as do CC2CrG; all other beta family manuscripts agree in reading Ac. But if he worche wel þer-with · as dowel hym techeth I haue no kynde knowyng quod I · to conceyue alle ȝowre wordes Ac if I may lyue and loke · I shal go lerne bettere I bikenne þe cryst · þat on þe crosse deyde And I seyde þe same · saue ȝow fro myschaunce And ȝiue ȝow grace on þis grounde · good men to worthe And þus I went wide-where walkyng myne one By a wilde wildernesse · and bi a wode-syde Blisse of þoL.8.64: LHmR alone read þo; other B manuscripts have þe. briddes · brouȝte me aslepe And vnder a lynde vppon a launde · lened I a stounde To lythe þe layes · þo louely foules made+ Murthe of her mouthes · made meL.8.67: The supralinear addition of me is by a later hand. A <+> in the left margin notes the omission. þere to slepe Þe merueillousest meteles · mette me þanne+ Þat euer dremed dremed[dremed]L.8.69: This line has a <+> in the left margin, but the dittographic error was never corrected. wyȝte · in worlde as I wene A moche man as me þouȝte · and lyke to my-selue Come and called me · by my kynde name What artow quod I þo · þat þow my name knowest Þat þow wost wel quod he · and no wyȝte bettere Wote I what þow art  þought · seyde he þanne I haue suwed þe þis seuene ȝere · sey þow me no rather Art þow thought quod I þo · þow couthest me wisse Where þat dowel dwelleth · and do me þat to knowe Dowel and dobet · and dobest þe thridde quod he Aren three faire vertues · and beth nauȝte fer to fynde Who-so is trewe of his tonge · and of his two handes And þorugh his laboure or þorugh his londe · his lyflode wynneth And is trusti of his tailende · taketh but his owne And is nouȝt dronkenlew ne dedeignous · dowel hym folweth Dobet doth ryȝt þus · ac he doth moche more He is as low as a lombe · and loueliche of speche And helpeth alle men · after þat hem nedeth Þe bagges and þe bigurdeles · he hath to-brokenL.8.87: LCr1MR alone read to-broken; most other B manuscripts have tobroke, uncovering the final <-e> and enabling the elision that makes the b-verse metrical. hem alle Þat þe Erl auarous · helde and his heires And þus with Mammonaes mone · he hath made hym frendes And is ronne in-toL.8.90: LMRF alone have in-to. Other B witnesses have to. Religioun · and hath rendred þe bible And precheth to þe poeple · seynt Poules wordes Libenter suffertis insipientes · cum sitis ipsi sapientes And suffreth þe vnwise · with ȝow forto libbe And with gladde wille doth hem gode · for so god ȝow hoteth Dobest is aboue bothe · and bereth a bisschopes crosse Is hoked on þat one ende · to halie men fro helle A pyke is on þat potente · to pulte adown þe wikked Þat wayten any wikkednesse · dowel to tene And dowel and dobet amonges hem ordeigned To croune one to be kynge to reuleL.8.100: LCr alone have reule. Other B manuscripts have rulen, covering the -e and thus assuring a metrically regular b-verse. hem bothe Þat ȝif dowel or dobet did aȝein dobest Þanne shal þe kynge come · and casten hem in yrens And but if dobest bede for hem · þei to be þere for euere Thus dowel and dobet · and dobest þe thridde Crouned one to be kynge · to kepin hem alle And to reule þe Reume · bi her thre wittes And none other wise · but as þei thre assented I thonked thouȝt þo · þat he me þus tauȝte Ac ȝete sauoureth me nouȝt þi seggyng · I coueite to lerne How dowel dobet and dobest · don amonges þe peple But witte conne wisse þe quod þouȝt · where þo thre dwelle Ellis wote I none þat can · þat now is alyue Þouȝte and I thus · thre days we ȝeden Disputyng vppon dowel · day after other And ar we were ywar · with witte gan we mete He was longe and lene · liche to none other Was no pruyde on his apparaille · ne pouerte noyther Sadde of his semblaunt · and of soft chiere I dorste meue no matere · to make hym to iangle But as I bad þouȝt þo · be mene bitwene And put forth somme purpos · to prouen his wittes What was dowel · fro dobet · and dobest fram hem bothe Þanne þouȝt in þat tyme seide þise wordes Where dowel dobetL.8.124: The initial <d> of dobet is re-inked. and dobest ben in londe Here is wille wolde ywyteL.8.125: LMR alone have ywyte. Other B manuscripts have wite. · ȝif witte couthe teche hym+ And whether he be man · or manL.8.126: L alone reads man. Most other B witnesses have womman, though BCR have no man. The corrector's <+> in the left margin may be for a correction here, or may refer to a mistake subsequently corrected, since wolde later in this line is written over an erasure. · þis man fayne .....wolde aspye And worchen as þei thre wolde · þis is his entente ·